Managing employees in China from Hong Kong: interaction, relationships and productivity as antecedents to motivation

States that managers must often try to motivate employees working in another country. Senior accounting managers in Hong Kong were interviewed on their experiences leading professionals in China. Results of structural equation analyses suggest the usefulness of Deutsch’s theory of co‐operation and competition to understanding how interaction between leaders and employees develops future motivation. Co‐operative goals were found to contribute to a constructive discussion of opposing views between managers and employees which, in turn, resulted in productive work and stronger work relationships; these outcomes, in turn, developed motivation to work hard and well on future assignments. These results were interpreted as suggesting that managers can motivate employees through developing strong co‐operative goals and the skills of constructive controversy.